A tiatr consists of:
A full length story divided into six or sevenparts. Each part is called a ‘Pordho’ in which besides prose there may or maynot be a small song related to the story. This song is called a ‘canto’. Inolden times every ‘pordho’ used to have one ‘canto’.
In between every two ‘Pordhe’ there areat least two full length songs. These songs are called ‘kantaram’. These‘kantaram’ do not have any relation to the main story of the Tiatr. Each‘kantar’ is based on different issue be it social, political , religious, etc.Hence in a Tiatr besides the main plot, another 12 to 14 different issues arepresented to the people through ‘kantaram’. The words ‘canto’ and‘kantaram’ above are derived fromthe Portuguese word ‘cantar’ which means ‘to sing’
Comedy is an essential part of a tiatr, relatedto the main story of the play.
Melodrama and spontaneity also forms anintegral part of the presentation of a Tiatr. All these aspects make a Tiatrunique compared to other dramatic forms in Goa and elsewhere.
